Effect of replacement of Ca by Zn on the structure and optical property of CaTiO3:Eu3+ red phosphor prepared by sol-gel method

Eu3+-doped calcium titanate red phosphors, Ca1-xZnxTiO3:Eu3+, were prepared by the sol-gel method. The structure of prepared Ca1-xZnxTiO3:Eu3+ phosphors were investigated by X-ray diffraction and infrared spectra. Due to the (D0F1-3)-D-5-F-7 electron transitions of Eu3+ ions, photoluminescence spectra showed a red emission at about 619 nm under excitation of 397 nm and 465 nm, respectively. When zinc was added to the host, the luminescent intensity of Ca1-xZnxTiO3:Eu3+ was markedly improved several fold compared with that of CaTiO3:Eu3+. Ca0.9Zn0.1TiO3:Eu3+ also had higher luminescence intensity than the commercially available Y2O3:Eu3+ phosphors under UV light excitation. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.